Player with good MKV compatibility

[Member-496106]

lately I've been running MKV files off an external drive plugged into a Sony BDP 6700 but I've been running into issues. It locks up with certain files. I've also tried a Panasonic BD94 but it also has lock-up issues. Are there any decent players that run MKV files reliably?

[JohnnyF]

The Oppo 103 and 203 do. Cant vouch for other players that do.

[punisher]

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaNut

lately I've been running MKV files off an external drive plugged into a Sony BDP 6700 but I've been running into issues. It locks up with certain files. I've also tried a Panasonic BD94 but it also has lock-up issues. Are there any decent players that run MKV files reliably?

I have several OPPO's ..they are fantastic but sooo costly for a used one these days..I found that the LG UBK90 player works flawlessly and is very inexpensive..I have 3 as backups to my Oppo's. You don't get all the features like the Oppos but they play MKV's no problem. There is no chapter search on the LG's.If you hit hit the chapter next on the remote it takes you to the next movie so use the FF instead.Audio /Video is excellent with two HDMI outputs. Very highly recommended for MKV's..

I actually got my LGs as refurbs for around 100 bucks but they cost more now...definitely grab one.

[Member-839946]

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaNut

lately I've been running MKV files off an external drive plugged into a Sony BDP 6700 but I've been running into issues. It locks up with certain files. I've also tried a Panasonic BD94 but it also has lock-up issues. Are there any decent players that run MKV files reliably?

Raspberry Pi 4 running libreELEC (kodi). $76ish.

[lgans316]

Just get a Zidoo mate.

[punisher]

I believe he wants player not a streaming device....

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by punisher

I have several OPPO's ..they are fantastic but sooo costly for a used one these days..I found that the LG UBK90 player works flawlessly and is very inexpensive..I have 3 as backups to my Oppo's. You don't get all the features like the Oppos but they play MKV's no problem. There is no chapter search on the LG's.If you hit hit the chapter next on the remote it takes you to the next movie so use the FF instead.Audio /Video is excellent with two HDMI outputs. Very highly recommended for MKV's..

I actually got my LGs as refurbs for around 100 bucks but they cost more now...definitely grab one.

LG players have always been very reliable at media playback since the DVD days, I've had like 3 but no UHD ones.

Does the UBK90 allow you to jump to a specific minute in the movie? past players had this feature when hitting the Info/Menu button during playback.

[punisher]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

LG players have always been very reliable at media playback since the DVD days, I've had like 3 but no UHD ones.

Does the UBK90 allow you to jump to a specific minute in the movie? past players had this feature when hitting the Info/Menu button during playback.

if you asking about MKV's...no..you have to fast forward.....hitting the next chapter takes you to the next movie on your drive.

regular discs..yes.

[deatheats]

Originally Posted by punisher

I believe he wants player not a streaming device....

Sadly, I think the major issue is that there aren’t any devices on the market that do both very well. Most folks typically end up getting two devices, one that plays discs well and one that has great file playback.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by punisher

if you asking about MKV's...no..you have to fast forward.....hitting the next chapter takes you to the next movie on your drive.

regular discs..yes.

Not chapter skips, there's a info menu that brings up audio, subtitles, runtime, chapters and image settings during playback, and you can go over each and change them, like for runtime it allows you to go to any specific minute. Wish I could find a picture of it online to be more specific.

I just looked up the player's interface and it's identical to a LG BP556 I have from like 5 years ago, so I'm gonna assume that feature is still a thing.

Edit: this menu

[8mile13]

I had issues with my Sony players. I had to change audio in MKV file because it could not handle those. Once fixed it just did not look as good as it suppost to look. I bought a used Nvidea Shield and connect a external hard drive with files on it when i watch stuff like MKV which looks fine now..not anyway near blu-ray quality stuff though..use the players for that.

[BLMN]

I had to move on with a Zidoo Z9X specially because of 4k and Dolby Vision mkv files, the UHD players were not updated (and probably wont anymore) to be able to play the latest DV profiles.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

LG players have always been very reliable at media playback since the DVD days, I've had like 3 but no UHD ones.

Does the UBK90 allow you to jump to a specific minute in the movie? past players had this feature when hitting the Info/Menu button during playback.

I was really spoiled with my LG player. When I got the Panny, it was (and still IS) a major drawback. I have files that will play back on my TV that won't on my 4k player.

[raybestos]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

LG players have always been very reliable at media playback since the DVD days, I've had like 3 but no UHD ones.

Does the UBK90 allow you to jump to a specific minute in the movie? past players had this feature when hitting the Info/Menu button during playback.

I just got a UBK90 for $120 new in box. It definitely does allow to jump to a specific minute:second spot within mkvs. Bring up that info menu as suggested earlier, and highlight the time, and merely key the time you want from the numberpad, like 44:44 or 55:55 into it, and magically seeks to that spot -- just like the old bluray players.

It also has very robust FF, REW, (I think 2x,4x,8x,16x) and slow down functions (I think 1/2,1/4,1/8 speed)

It's fabulous and media container compatibility is excellent. It supports GPT and partitions > 2TB, flac, raw m2ts, but not raw .ISO playback. It supports an AVCHD folder structure, however, on a USB stick or harddrive, so you can play a raw .iso if the folder structure is ripped intact.

I plays mkvs embedded with h.265 and FLAC, but not the Dolby Vision layer, as far as I can tell. No standalone UHD player does, as far I researched.

Very impressed. Best $120 I've spent in a long time. I've missed the .mkv seek feature for over a decade in standalone players. Now it's back -- and in 2160p.

[Deadend45]

I guess no UHD player (dont mean streaming) supports mkv losses audio without downsampling?

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Deadend45

I guess no UHD player (dont mean streaming) supports mkv losses audio without downsampling?

What makes you think the Panasonic players are downsampling ?

I have had a number of Panasonic UHD players and some are quite simple inside with system on a chip. I don't think they have the means to downsample audio. Seems to read and send the digital data with minimal processing if any.

I've had the 420 and the 9000 and currently I have 2 DP-UB150s. One I'm using and one as a backup.

The DP-UB150 is a solid player so much so that a few review sites actually made up negative things about it. And inside there's not much there. It lacks streaming services which is great because I have the ATV4K for that and if I have something on disc there's no way in hell I want to watch the streaming version.

I can understand being confused for sure. I can't understand making things up. I think Downsampling would require specialized hardware or computational ability (ie Handbrake) and for certain these things are not in the Panasonic players.


Edit - The UB150 does not do Dolby Vision so people who want that will want the 820 or 9000. My projector doesn't support Dolby Vision currently so it doesn't matter to me.


You have me curious now about your notion of downsampling because I just don't see the means for this player to do that. I think I will rip my Dark Side of the Moon ATMOS mix to MKV and play it back from this player to compare to the disc. The only MKV I have played back so far from this player is my copy of The Big Blu on Blu Ray from region 2. It being a Region 2 title is the reason I used the MKV playback feature and it worked perfectly.

[Deadend45]

Originally Posted by bhampton

What makes you think the Panasonic players are downsampling ?

I did not write the panasonic or any other player is downsampling, I wrote (from what I have read) the MKV file's lossless audio is downsampled on all players.

Originally Posted by bhampton

The only MKV I have played back so far from this player is my copy of The Big Blu on Blu Ray from region 2. It being a Region 2 title is the reason I used the MKV playback feature and it worked perfectly.

Of course the MKV audio plays, the point is does the receiver indicate lossless audio from said playback. If it does not, it was downsampled.

[bhampton]

I just tested this with a music Blu Ray which has 24/96 high res audio. The processor (Marantz 7702MK2) status shows it plays back in 24/96 which is the lossless track and it was not down converted.

If you remember where you read something about disc players down mixing audio from MKV please let me know where because that really doesn't sound possible.

I haven't used my Zidoo and NAS setup in years now but I still have most of my library backed up on the NAS units so if you wanted me to test something else I probably could without too much effort. Were you perhaps asleep when you read this thing about down sampling ?

[Deadend45]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I just tested this with a music Blu Ray which has 24/96 high res audio. The processor (Marantz 7702MK2) status shows it plays back in 24/96 which is the lossless track and it was not down converted.

You played a blu-ray disc? Of course that was not downsampled!

[Quilp]

To my knowledge Panasonic players will not play any lossless audio streams included in an MKV wrapper.